


together, this crew might have a full brain cell

by NoItsBecky_127



Series: Who Gave Shepard Command Of This Ship? [1]
Category: Mass Effect - All Media Types, Mass Effect Trilogy
Genre: Abuse of Hyphens, Author Is Sleep Deprived, Engineer Shepard, F/F, Gen, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, Paragade (Mass Effect), Paragon Shepard (Mass Effect), Pre-Relationship, Pre-Slash, Slow Burn, Sole Survivor (Mass Effect), Spacer (Mass Effect), Team Bonding, Team as Family, abuse of ellipses, because why not, lesbian shepard, mostly paragon but shep can and will fight a bitch
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-09
Updated: 2020-10-16
Packaged: 2021-03-04 21:01:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,868
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25452802
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NoItsBecky_127/pseuds/NoItsBecky_127
Summary: Lieutenant Commander Jade Shepard had enough on her mind when it was just her, her command, and the demons she’s spent six years trying to outrun. But when a turian Spectre goes rogue, she finds herself and her ragtag crew tasked with finding and stopping him. Along the way, she might just form some unbreakable bonds, develop a growing frustration with politicians, and hack every database she can get her omni-tool into.No matter what happens, one thing’s for certain: this is going to be a wild ride.
Relationships: Female Shepard/Tali'Zorah nar Rayya, not gonna tag all the platonic relationships bc we’d be here all night if I did
Series: Who Gave Shepard Command Of This Ship? [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1870186
Comments: 1
Kudos: 10





	1. Shakedown Run Gone Wrong

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In the aftermath of Eden Prime, Jade has a lot on her mind.

“…Chakwas? I think she’s waking up.”

That’s the first thing Jade hears as she opens her eyes, sitting up. _Fuck_ , her head aches. What the hell happened?

She sits up, slowly, resting her forehead in her palm for a moment before looking up.

Dr. Chakwas walks over. “You had us worried there, Shepard,” she says. “How are you feeling?”

”Like the morning after shore leave,” Jade grumbles, massaging her temples. “How long’ve I been out?”

”About fifteen hours. Something happened down there with the beacon, I think.”

It comes back to Jade, then. The beacon. They were supposed to get to the Prothean beacon on Eden Prime. And they did. They made it there. And…

She suppresses a gasp as the visions come back to her, those flashes she saw in the moments before everything went black. She doesn’t know what they were, what they meant, but something about them terrifies her.

”It’s my fault.” Jade turns to the side to locate the source of the voice. Alenko. “I must have triggered some kind of security field when I approached it. You had to push me out of the way.” Right. She remembers that.

Jade should be upset, by all accounts, but she’s too preoccupied and her head hurts too much to be angry. So she just says, “You couldn’t have known what would happen. None of us could.”

”Besides,” Chakwas cuts in, “we don’t even know if that was what set it off. Unfortunately, it seems we won’t ever get the chance to find out.”

Jade blinks. “Wait—why?”

”The beacon exploded,” Alenko explains. “A system overload, maybe. Whatever it was, the blast knocked you out cold. Williams and I had to carry you back here to the ship.”

She’s no medical expert, but a blast that can knock her out for fifteen hours can’t have left her unharmed. “Was I hurt at all?” She doesn’t feel injured, just sore and headachey, but she has a decent pain tolerance.

”Physically, no,” Chakwas says, “aside from some bruises and scrapes, but those could just as easily have been from the geth. I detected some unusual brain activity while you were unconscious, though. Abnormal beta waves. I also noticed an increase in your rapid eye movement. Signs typically associated with intense dreaming.”

“I saw—” Jade stops short, mouth moving soundlessly as she tries to articulate the vivid images still burned into her mind. “I-I don’t know what I saw. Death. Destruction. It isn’t clear—none of it is.

The doctor hums. “I’d better add this to my report. It may—” She stops short as the captain enters. “Oh, Captain Anderson.”

”How’s our XO holding up, Doctor?”

”All the readings look normal. I’d say the commander’s going to be fine.”

”Glad to hear it.” Anderson turns to Jade, then. “Shepard, I need to speak with you—in private.”

Alenko salutes him. “Aye aye, Captain. I’ll be in the mess if you need me.” He and Chakwas leave.

When it’s just the two of them in the medbay, Anderson speaks again. “Sounds like that beacon hit you pretty hard, Commander. You sure you’re doing okay?”

“I’m…as good as can be expected.” Jade swallows. “I don’t like soldiers dying under my command.” When she got her own command, she swore to herself she would do everything she could to minimize casualties, to never, _never_ see another Akuze, but Jenkins…

“Jenkins wasn’t your fault,” Anderson assures her. “You did a good job, Shepard.”

She knows he’s right. It still hurts. It always does.

Speaking of losing soldiers… “I’m curious about Gunnery Chief Williams. Did we leave her on Eden Prime?”  
  
The captain shakes his head. “I figured we could use a soldier like her. She’s been reassigned to the Normandy.”

”She’s good at what she does,” Jade says. “We could definitely use someone like her.”

”Lieutenant Alenko agrees with you. Hence her addition to the crew.”

With those thoughts out in the open, something else rises to the surface—anger. “But sir, intel dropped the ball. If we had known what we were walking into down there, things might not have gone to hell.”

“The geth haven’t been seen outside the Veil in two centuries, Commander,” Anderson points out. “Nobody could have predicted this.”

“I know.” Because she does know. But still, she doesn’t like surprise elements on missions, no matter how small they are. She hates not knowing exactly what she’s walking into. “Anyway, you said you needed to see me in private, Captain. What’s the issue?” There must be more to this than just checking to make sure she’s fine.

”I won’t lie to you, Shepard—things look bad. Nihlus is dead, the beacon’s been destroyed, and geth are invading. The Council is going to have a lot of questions, and they’ll want answers to all of them.”

”They can ask them, Captain. I’ve done nothing wrong, and hopefully they can see that.” She won’t act like she has something to hide, not when she did everything she was supposed to.

The captain turns away from her, walking a few steps. “Shepard, I’ll stand behind you and your report. In my book, you’re a damn hero. That’s not why I’m here. My concern is the other turian, Saren.”

Figures. God knows there’s plenty to discuss there.

”Saren’s a Spectre,” he continues, “one of the best. A living legend. But if he’s working with the geth, it means he’s gone rogue.” He turns back to her. “A rogue Spectre’s trouble. Saren’s dangerous, and he hates humans.”

A turian who hates humans. Even twenty-six years after the war’s end, that’s not a rare sight. Still, Jade can’t help but ask, “Any particular reason why?”

“He thinks we’re growing too fast,” Anderson says, “taking over the galaxy. A lot of aliens think that way, but most of them don’t do anything about it.”

”But Saren is.”

”Precisely. He’s allied himself with the geth. I don’t know how, and I don’t know why. I only know it had something to do with that beacon.” Something seems to occur to him. “You were there when that beacon self-destructed. Did you see anything? Any clue that might tell us what Saren was after?”

She hesitates. “Just before I lost consciousness, I had some kind of…vision.”

That gets his attention. “A vision? A vision of what?”

 _I don’t know_ , Jade wants to yell, but instead she tries to piece together what she saw, and says, “I saw synthetics. Geth, maybe.” She bites her lip. “They were…slaughtering people. Butchering them.”

Anderson’s eyes widen. “We need to report this to the Council, Shepard.”

And she might laugh at that, if the situation weren’t so dire. “Sir, with all due respect, that won’t get us anywhere. They’ll just think I’m crazy.” She knows the Alliance was already hesitant to give her this command, because six years later and Akuze still defines her in everyone’s eyes ~~—~~ everyone _else’s_ eyes—and something like this? Going to the Council over a vision? She'd be a galactic laughingstock.

”We don’t know what information was stored in that beacon,” he points out. “Lost Prothean technology? Blueprints for some ancient weapon of mass destruction? Whatever it was, Saren took it. But I know Saren. I know his reputation, his politics. He believes humans to be a blight on the galaxy. This attack was an act of war.”

”He has the secrets from the beacon,” Anderson continues. “He has an army of geth at his command. And he won’t stop until he’s wiped humanity from the face of the galaxy!”

Jade would rather not get involved in this stuff, but it seems she’s a part of it whether she likes it or not, and besides, she’d prefer humanity wasn’t wiped out. “I’ll find some way to stop him.”

”It’s not that easy. He’s a Spectre.” Right, that pesky little tidbit of information. “He can go anywhere, do almost anything. That’s why we need the Council on our side.”

“It’s our word against his. They won’t believe us—when have they _ever_ done anything for humanity?” The words come out harsher than she intended, but she doesn’t take them back.

”If we can expose Saren as a traitor, the Council will revoke his Spectre status. I’ll contact the ambassador and see if he can get us an audience with the Council. He’ll want to see us as soon as we reach the Citadel.” So that’s where they’re heading. “Whenever you’re ready, tell Joker to bring the Normandy into dock.” And then there is one.

* * *

Alenko is standing in mess, near the wall. “Commander,” he says as Jade walks up to him, “I’m glad to see you’re okay. Losing Jenkins was hard on the crew. I’m glad we didn’t lose you, too.”

”Things were pretty rough down there,” she says, because she never knows what to say in these situations. You’d think after all the interviews about Akuze, she’d learn to talk about soldiers dying, but she still hasn’t.

He nods. “Yeah, you never get used to seeing dead civilians. Doesn’t seem right. But at least you stopped Saren from wiping out the whole colony.”

”It’s something, I guess.” Some is better than none. She just has to keep telling herself that. “But we didn’t even get the damn beacon.”

”Things didn’t go as planned,” Alenko agrees. “I still can’t believe we lost Jenkins.”

Jade picks at a nail. “I wish I could’ve done something to save him.”

”You did everything right, Shepard,” he assures her. “I was there. It was just bad luck.”

It always is. Doesn’t bring anyone back.

“It’s been a hell of a shakedown cruise,” he continues. “Our first mission, and it ends with one Spectre killing another. The Council’s not gonna be happy about that. Probably use it to lever more concession out of the Alliance.”

”You’ve got a good grasp of the situation,” she comments. “You a career man?”

“Yeah. A lot of biotics are. We’re not restricted, but we sure don’t go undocumented, either.” Alenko shrugs. “May as well get a paycheck for it. Besides, my father served. Made him proud when I enlisted. Eventually. Is that why you’re here, because of your family?”

Family. She can talk about that. “I was a regular Navy brat, growing up. Enlisting was always the plan. ‘Course, I got a little more noteworthy than the folks were expecting.” Her moms were expecting a standard Alliance soldier, not an N7 operative who got a medal at 23.

“Oh, that’s right. Akuze,” Alenko says, like it’s not the one thing she’s known for. “I imagine that bought you any post in the fleet. In any case,” _oh thank God he’s changing the subject_ , “word is we’re heading for the Citadel, ma’am. Can you tell me why?”

”The captain hopes the ambassador can get us an audience with the Council,” Jade explains. “Tell them what Saren’s been up to.”

”Makes sense. They’d probably like to know he’s not working for them anymore. Well, whatever happens, we’ll be ready, Commander.”

”Thanks, Lieutenant. We should be docking soon.”

* * *

She finds Chief Williams nearby, across from the lockers. “I’m glad you’re okay, Commander,” the other woman says as Jade walks up to her. “The crew could use some good news after what happened to Jenkins.”

”Jenkins was a valuable part of this crew. He’ll be missed.” She wishes she’d had the chance to know him better.

“Part of me feels guilty over what happened,” Williams confesses. “If Jenkins was still alive, I might not be here.”

 _And I got a damn medal because my whole unit died_ , she thinks, but she doesn’t say. Instead, she says, “You’re a good soldier, Williams. You belong on the Normandy.”

”Thanks, Commander. I appreciate that.”

”Things…got pretty bad back there.” She folds her arms against her chest. “How are you doing?”

Williams is silent, for a moment, before she answers. “I’ve seen friends die before. Comes with being a marine. But to see my whole unit wiped out…” Jade can only nod, any words of sympathy dying on her tongue. “And you never get used to seeing dead civilians. Still, things would’ve been a lot worse if you hadn’t shown up.”

”We couldn’t have done it without you, Williams.” She’s damn good with a pistol, and Alenko’s a powerful biotic, but even so, they probably wouldn’t have made it to the beacon if they hadn’t had Williams.

”Thanks, Commander.” Williams smiles, a little. “I have to admit, I was a little worried about being assigned to the Normandy. It’s nice when someone makes you feel welcome.”

”I think you’ll fit in around here just fine.” She means it.

”Thanks, Commander.”

“We’ll be docking at the Citadel in a few. Be ready.”

”’Course.”

* * *

“Good timing, Commander,” Joker says as Jade enters the cockpit, “I was just about to bring us through the relay in to the Citadel. See that taxpayer money at work.”

He directs the ship into the relay, making a smooth jump through, and they emerge in view of another ship.

”Look at the size of that ship!” Williams marvels as she and Alenko walk in.

”The Ascension,” the lieutenant says. “Flagship of the Citadel fleet.”

”Well, size isn’t everything,” Joker quips.

Williams doesn’t look away from the window. “Why so touchy, Joker?”

”I’m just saying you need firepower, too.”

“Look at that monster!” At this, the chief does turn to Joker. “Its main gun could rip through the barriers on any ship in the Alliance fleet.”

”Good thing it’s on our side, then,” Alenko comments.

”Citadel Control,” Joker says into the ship’s comms, “this is SSV Normandy requesting permission to land.”

A voice filters through the speakers. “Stand by for clearance, Normandy.” After a moment, it continues, “Clearance granted. You may begin your approach. Transferring you to an Alliance operator.”

”Roger, Alliance Tower. Normandy out.”

The voice gets replaced. “Normandy, this is Alliance Tower. Please proceed to dock 422.”

A few moments later, the Normandy is docked at the Citadel. “Alenko. Williams.” Jade nods at the two. “Come on. We’ve got a Council to meet with.”


	2. Can You Sue The Government For Discrimination?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The meeting doesn’t go as planned. Jade and her crewmates find some new leads.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was a bit of a slog, so I apologize if the quality is poor, and for a lot of the dialogue being essentially lifted from the game. Hope you enjoy anyway. Eventually we’ll get to the good stuff.
> 
> Also, we are no longer dying like women, because chichevache is beta reading this now! She hasn't written anything on here, but I still felt like I should give credit where it's due.

Jade doesn’t associate the Citadel with good things.

She’s only been to the massive station a handful of times, with her longest stretch there by far being a few weeks right after Akuze. So when she thinks of the Citadel, what generally follows is thinking of _Service Chief Jade Shepard was the only one to make it out alive_ and _Chief can you tell us what happened_ and—well. That doesn’t matter now.

What does matter is that now she’s got a new bad thing to associate it with—hearing the dismissive response of the Council to the news of Eden Prime.

”This is an outrage!” Ambassador Udina yells. “The Council would step in if the geth attacked a turian colony!”

Councilor Valern’s hologram speaks, “That is a moot point, Ambassador. Turians don’t found colonies on the borders of the Terminus Systems.”

“Humanity was well aware of the risks when you went into the Traverse. This was always a possibility,” Councilor Tevos says, as if that’s it. Just humans getting too cocky, playing with fire and crying when they get burned. As if Eden Prime hadn’t been fine for thirty years before this.

”And what about Saren?” Udina snaps. “You can’t just ignore a rogue Spectre! I demand action!”

Councilor Sparatus fires back, “You don’t get to make demands of the Council, Ambassador.”

”Citadel Security is investigating your charges against Saren. We will discuss the C-Sec findings at the hearing, and not before. Are we clear?” Tevos’s matter-of-fact tone makes Jade want to punch her.

The hologram flickers away, and the ambassador turns to Anderson. “Captain Anderson. I see you brought half your crew with you.”

”Just the ground team from Eden Prime,” Anderson responds. “In case you had any questions.” Jade sees Alenko and Williams, who are leaning against the railing, exchange a brief glance.

“I have the mission reports,” Udina says. “I assume they’re accurate?”

”They are. Sounds like you convinced the Council to give us an audience.”

”They were not happy about it.” _Yeah, I can tell._ “Saren’s their top agent. They don’t like him being accused of treason.”

”Well, they’d better get used to it,” Jade snaps. “Because it’s true. And I’m not going to sit on my ass just because the Council doesn’t want to do anything.”

”Settle down, Commander.” Udina narrows his eyes at her, and she grits her teeth. “You’ve already done more than enough to jeopardize your candidacy for the Spectres without losing your temper at the Council.”

 _Right_. In all the chaos, she’d forgotten about Nihlus putting her name in as a Spectre candidate. A couple of days ago, Jade would have given anything for this chance, and now it seems laughably insignificant in comparison to everything else.

”The mission on Eden Prime was a chance to prove you could get the job done.” The ambassador begins laying into her as if she purposely sabotaged the mission. “Instead, Nihlus ended up dead and the beacon was destroyed!”

“That’s Saren’s fault,” the captain cuts in, “not hers!”

”Then we’d better hope the C-Sec investigation turns up evidence to support our accusations. Otherwise the Council might use this as an excuse to keep you out of the Spectres.”

 _I don’t give a shit about the Spectres!_ Jade wants to yell the words loud enough for the Council to hear from their stupid tower. She doesn’t, mostly because she’d be all over the extranet before the day’s end. And a little because, despite herself, it’s not true. She does want to be a Spectre, on some level, because who wouldn't? Even if she doesn't deserve it, it's still an incredible opportunity. But if politics are going to come before dealing with Saren, then to hell with that.

”Come with me, Captain. I want to go over a few things before the hearing. And Shepard, you and the others can meet us at the Citadel Tower. Top level. I’ll make sure you have clearance to get it.”

”And that’s why I hate politicians,” Williams mutters as the two men leave.

Jade can’t help but agree.

* * *

"The Council isn't going to ask me any questions, are they?"

Williams' worried question breaks the silence (save for the music) of the elevator. It's a relief--Citadel elevators are notoriously long, and Jade will take anything to make them seem shorter.

"I doubt it," Alenko responds. "We've made our reports. Now we just have to trust Ambassador Udina."

Williams doesn't miss a beat. "I'd rather not, sir."

The elevator stops a few moments later, having reached the top floor. Jade breathes in and out. "Okay, let's go." They start walking, the short distance feeling like a death march.

"Saren's hiding something, I know it!”

The words catch Jade’s attention, because she definitely knows that the speaker’s right about that. She stops, turning to watch the voice’s source—a turian. “Give me more time!” He continues. “Stall them!"

There's two of them, C-Sec officers by the uniforms. "Stall the Council?" The other scoffs. "Don't be ridiculous. Your investigation is over, Garrus." He turns and walks away.

Then the remaining turian, Garrus, seems to notice the trio of humans watching them. He walks over, stopping in front of them. "Commander Shepard? Garrus Vakarian," he introduces. "I was the officer in charge of the C-Sec investigation into Saren."

"Sounds like you really want to bring him down.” It’s comforting, knowing that there are people outside the Normandy who see Saren for what he is.

"I don’t trust him,” Garrus says. “Something about him rubs me the wrong way. But he’s a Spectre.” Jade decides she’s really sick of hearing that. “Everything he touches is classified. I can’t find any hard evidence.”

Alenko speaks up before she can respond. “I think the Council is ready for you, Commander.”

”Right. Been good meeting you, officer.”

”Good luck, Shepard,” Garrus says as she’s leaving. “Maybe they’ll listen to you.”

 _And maybe Rakhana will start thriving,_ she thinks to herself bitterly as she and the other two leave.

* * *

"The geth attack is a matter of some concern, yes. But there is nothing to indicate Saren was involved in any way." Tevos sounds more exasperated than she does concerned.

"Citadel Security has conducted an investigation," Sparatus says. "There is no evidence to support your charge of treason."

"An eyewitness saw him kill Nihlus in cold blood!" Udina yells.

Valern waves a hand. "We've read the Eden Prime reports, Ambassador. But the testimony of one traumatized dockworker is hardly compelling proof."

"I resent these accusations." _Saren_. Dammit, how can he act like he's done nothing wrong, after Eden Prime? "Nihlus was a fellow Spectre, and a friend."

"That just let you catch him off guard!" Anderson accuses.

"Captain Anderson," Saren says. "You always seem to be involved when humanity makes false charges against me."

The Spectre turns his gaze to Jade. "And this must be your protege. Commander Shepard. The one who let the beacon get destroyed."

"You're the one who destroyed the beacon!" She defends. "And now you're trying to cover it up."

"Shifting the blame to cover your own failures," he scoffs, "just like Captain Anderson. He's taught you well. But what can you expect, from a _human?_ " Jade feels her breath catch at the venom in his voice.

"Can't you see?" She addresses the Council, who seem only vaguely interested in this. "Saren _despises_ humanity. That's why he attacked Eden Prime!"

"Your species needs to learn its place, Shepard," Saren hisses. "You're not ready to join the Council. You're not even ready to join the Spectres!"

Before Jade can snap back at him, Udina cuts in. "He has no right to say that! It's not his decision to make!"

"Your statement is irrelevant, Saren." Against all odds, a councilor actually calls Saren out for something. Of course, Tevos reminding him to stay on track wasn't exactly the end goal, but...progress? "Shepard's admission into the Spectres is not the purpose of this meeting."

"This meeting _has_ no purpose," Saren spits. "The humans are wasting your time, Councilor, and mine."

Her blood boils. "You can't hide behind the Council forever!"

"There is still one outstanding issue," Anderson states, "and that is Commander Shepard's vision. It may have been triggered by the beacon."

 _Shit_. He mentioned the vision. Well, she can kiss her future credibility goodbye, then.

"Are we allowing dreams into evidence now?" Saren snarls. _Pretty much the reaction I was expecting_. "How can I defend my innocence against this kind of testimony?"

”I agree,” Sparatus says, also the reaction she was expecting. “Our judgement must be based on facts and evidence. Not wild imaginings and reckless speculation.”

Valern looks at Jade. “Do you have anything else to add, Commander Shepard?”

And she damn well does. Things like _this is bullshit_ and _you’re blatantly protecting him_ and _if we weren’t humans you might at least listen._ But what good will any of that do?

”I won’t waste my breath,” she spits. “Not when you’ve clearly already made up your minds.”

The Council is quiet for a moment, the councilors looking at one another, before Tevos speaks. “The Council has found no evidence of any connection between Saren and the geth. Ambassador, your petition to have him expelled from the Spectres is denied.”

”I’m glad to see justice was served,” Saren says, and Jade wonders what the consequences would be for hacking into his hologram and fucking with it. She might be able to do it.

”This meeting is adjourned.” And just like that, it’s done. The meeting is done, the window is shut, and the Council doesn’t believe a word said by any human in that room.

* * *

”It was a mistake bringing you into that meeting, Captain,” Udina is saying the moment they exit the Council chamber. “You and Saren have too much history. It made the Council question our motives.”

”I know Saren,” Anderson insists. “He’s working with the geth for one reason: to exterminate the entire human race. Every colony we have is at risk. Every world we control is in danger. Even Earth isn’t safe.”

Human colonies, human worlds, versus every last one of the geth…that doesn't paint a pretty picture.

“What’s the history with you and Saren?” Jade blurts.

”I worked with him on a mission,” Anderson looks away, “a long time ago. Things went bad. Real bad.” He turns back to her. “We shouldn’t talk about this here. But I know what he’s like. And he has to be stopped.”

”You heard what they said in there,” she reminds him. “The Council isn’t going to help us. What can we do next?”

”As a Spectre, he’s virtually untouchable.” Next person who says that is getting their omnitool hacked. “We need to find some way to expose him.”

”What about Garrus?” Alenko points out. “That C-Sec investigator. We saw him arguing with the executor.”

”That’s right!” Williams nods. “He was asking for more time to finish his report. Seems like he was close to finding something on Saren.”

”He could definitely be a lead,” Jade agrees. “Does anyone know where we could find him?”

”I have a contact in C-Sec who could help us track Garrus down,” Udina says. “His name is Harkin.”

Anderson shakes his head. “Forget it. They suspended Harkin last month for drinking on the job. I won’t waste my time with him.”

”And you won’t have to,” the ambassador responds. “I don’t want the Council using your history with Saren as an excuse to ignore anything we turn up. Shepard will handle this.”

Jade blinks. “Sir, you can’t just cut Captain Anderson out of this investigation.”

”No, Shepard, the ambassador’s right,” Anderson says. “I need to step aside.”

“I need to take care of some business,” Udina says to the captain. “Captain, meet me in my office later.” He walks away.

”Harkin’s probably getting drunk at Chora’s Den,” Anderson says once Udina is gone. “It’s a dingy little club in the lower section of the wards.”

”I thought you said he was a drunken loser,” Jade points out. “Now you’re telling me to seek him out?”

”Be careful, of course—I wouldn’t call him reliable. But it couldn’t hurt to go talk to him.”

Before she leaves, she really needs to know what the whole Saren deal is. "Chief, Lieutenant, you two go ahead. I'll meet you at the entrance to the wards." They leave, and she turns back to Anderson. "What happened between you and Saren?”

”About twenty years ago, I was part of a mission in the Skyllian Verge,” Anderson begins. Twenty years—that would’ve been just a few years since the war. “I was working with Saren to find and remove a known terrorist threat. Saren eliminated the target.” He is silent, for a moment. “But a lot of people died along the way. Innocent people. And the official records just…covered it all up.”

“But I saw how he operates,” he continues. “No conscience. No hesitation. He’d kill a thousand innocent civilians to end a war without a second thought.”

Jade clenches her fists to keep from punching something. “Killing innocents doesn’t end wars, it _causes_ them.”

”Sometimes you’re forced to make unpleasant decisions, Commander. That’s how the world works,” Anderson admits. “But only if there’s no other way—and Saren’s so twisted, he doesn’t even look for any other way. He likes the violence and the killing, and he knows how to cover his tracks.”

”All the more reason to get him out of there.”

There’s something else. Something that’s been nagging at her since that conversation with him and Nihlus.

”One more thing, sir. With all due respect…why me?”

”What do you mean?”

”For the Spectres. Why put me forward as your candidate? There must be more qualified humans.” Not that that's a very high bar, because what's she ever done, save for being lucky enough to survive a massacre?

"It's not a matter of qualification, Shepard," and okay, now she's confused. "They say Spectres are born, not made. And the Council is always on the lookout for those exceptional individuals--like you. When we got the chance to put forth a Spectre candidate for humanity, we had to choose someone they would see something in. The Ambassador suggested Kai Leng, but he served under me a while back. I trust him about as far as I could throw him."

Kai Leng--she knows that name, a little. "He's an N7 operative, right?"

Anderson nods. "One with a noteworthy service record. But he's ruthless, more so than anyone needs to be, and his views on aliens don't exactly make him a good candidate for a galaxy-wide representative of humans. That's why I suggested you instead. If there's one thing I know about you, Shepard, it's that you won't sacrifice anyone you don't have to."

 _No, I'll just benefit from their deaths_. "Thank you, sir."

"You should catch up with Williams and Alenko. Good luck with Harkin."

"I'll need it." Jade turns around, exiting the tower and returning to the presidium.

Next stop: Chora's Den.

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed! Please comment, I thrive off of comments.


End file.
